Printing-plate.



G R. CORNWALL.

PRlNTiNG PLATE. APFUCATION FILED MAR 20. 1905- RENEWED JULY 6,1916.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Fay].

Fay J.

1 2 1 2 1 i mines.ess Z W fnwmztag;

plates known as planographic.

GEORGE R. CORNWALL, OF RYE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TJAMES G. COFFIN, TRUSTEE.

PRINTING-PLATE.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917..

Application filed March 20, 1905, Serial No. 251,096. Renewedluly 6,1916. Serial No. 107,872.

To all 1071 cm it may concern:

lie it known that I, Gnome R. CORNWALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rye, in the county of ll cstchestcr and State of lleui'orlr, have invented new and useful lmproven'ieuts in Printing-Plates,of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to printing plates and, more particularly, to thatclass of An object of ti iuycntion is to produce a. printing plate whichshall be of great durability; which is capable of yielding work of high.quality and at great speed; and which is easily and inexpensively made.These and other objects will more fully appear from the followingdescription.

The invention consists in the novel articles, parts, improvements andcombinations herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and forming av parthereof, illustrate in part a printing plate which is one embodiment ofthe invention, the same servingin connection with the description hereinto explain the principles of the invention. It will be understood thatthe drawings are diagrammatic in character and do not neces sarilyactually represent a printing plate nor the relative proportions of theparts thereof, this form of illustration being best suited to elucidatean invention of this character.

()f the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a plate carrying a design;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line lib-H of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a similar section showing a somewhat ditl'crent structure of theplate;

Fig. l a similar section showing a different structure of the plate; andFig. 5 is a section showing another structure of the plate.

In the illustration of a printing plate herewith, illustrating anembodiment of the invention, 1 represents the non-printing portion ofthe surface of such a plate, said portion being of a planographiccharacter, 2'. 2., being adapted to reject inl; either from the natureof the surface, or from its adapt ability to hold an ink-rejectingsubstance. The design portion of the surface of the plate is representedby the reference numeral 2, and is of such a nature as to take inkreadily.

The plate may be made from a variety of materials, and among availablematerials certain metals are particularly adaptable for such a plate,among these metals being zinc and aluminum. The surface of the plate iscaused to reject ink in the non-printing pormay be caused to displayopposite planographic properties by subjec mg such material to differenttreatments adapted to cause the material to change its state orcondition, one treatment placing it in a state or condition fitting itto act as the nonpr1nting part of the plate surface, and

other treatment putting i t'in state'or conditlon fitting lt ;t0 act asthe printing part thereof;

In Fig. 2 of'the drawings one form -"of 5 plate is shown, wherein thedesign-constituting part of the surface is indicated by 2 and thenon-printing part by 1. This plate may be made by preparing'in anysuitable manner the surface of a plate of zinc, aluminum, or othersuitable material, so that it may act as the ink-rejecting portion ofthe plate, as by giving it an open, non-compacted structure, which maybe effected by graining, sand-blasting, or by other suitable treatment.The entire surface, excepting the design portion, may then be coveredwith a proper resist and there may then be deposited in the space of thedesign, either electrolytically or otherwise, some of the same metal ormaterial, and this deposit may be of such thickness as is desired forthe particular work to be done by the plate. This deposit will then bein the form of the design, and the entire deposit, or only the surfacethereof, by suitable treatment, will be brought into a state orcondition so as to take ink. This may be done by giving the deposit, orits surface only, a dense or compacted structure, which may be effectedby polishing, or by indurating it, as by rolling, compressing, etc., orby otherwise treating it so as to cause it to act in the manner desired.

In Fig. 3 a form'of the plate is shown wherein the surface of a metalplateletsheet-- receives protection on that part of its surface which isto constitute the dcs'rgnand the r mainder of the surface is then placedin a condition to act as the ink-rejecting portion of the plate. Thismay be done in any suitable manner, as by etching it, or by graining.

Where the surface has been etched down, there'may be deposited thereonan open or non-compacted layer of the material, elechaving its surface,or a portion thereof, in.

condition to act as the ink-taking portion of the plate, suitablyprotected and then having deposited thereabout, by electrolysis orotherwise, a layer or deposit of the metal, which, either by the mannerof its deposition or by subsequent treatment may be put in condition toreject ink.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a plat similar to that in Fig. 3 with theexception that the surface has not been subjected to any etchingprocess. The non-printing portion 1 of the surface is grained, orrendered ink-rejecting in any other suitable manner, and the portion 2is given a high polish, or is indurated, or otherwise rendered inktakingby any suitable treatment. This manner of producing the plate is welladapted to metals, such as zinc and aluminum, and also to glass. Theentire surface of the plate may first be polished and the designprotected while the remainder of the surfaceis grained in any suitablemanner, as by a sand-blast, or the design portion of the surface may bepolished or hardened after the non-printing portion has been firstprepared.

From all the foregoing it will be seen that aprinting plate has beenprovided consisting of a single material which has a portion of itssurface adapted to act as the printing, and another portion thenon-printing, parts of a planographic printing plate; that such platemay be entirely of a slngle material, which may be a metal. and whichmay possess a very slight relief or intaglio, or be in a single plane,which has superior printing action and practically unlimited durability,and practice has shown that such plates produce work of very superiorquality.

The invention, in its broader aspects, is n t limited to the particularembodiment shown, nor to any particular embodiment, nor to theparticular materials nor to any particular materials, as changes may bemade without departing from the main principles of the invention andwithout sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is:

l. A metal planographic printing plate having the metal of the printingface in a dense or compacted condition in the design parts and in anopen or non-compacted but coherent and unamalgamated condition in thenon-design parts.

2. A planographie printing plate having its printing surface of a singlemetal, a por-. tion of said surface being in a dense or compacted stateor condition and the remainder of the surface of said plate being in anopen or non-compacted state or condition, said portions being arrangedor disposed with reference to each other so as to define the design;said portions constituting the inktaking and ink-rejecting parts of thesurface, respectively.

3. A planographic printing plate having its printing surface consistingof a single metal, a portion of said surface being in an indu-ratedstate or condition and the remainder of said surface being in anonindurated state or condition, said portions 'being arranged ordisposed with reference to each other so as to define the design; saidportions constituting the ink-taking and ink-rejecting parts of thesurface, respectively.

4. A planographic printing plate having its printing surface consistingof a single material, a portion of said surface being polished and aportion thereof grained, said portions being arranged or disposed S0 asto define the design; said portions constituting the ink-taking andink-rejecting parts of the surface, respectively.

5. A planographic printing plate having its printing surface consistingof a single metal, a portion of said surface being polished and aportion thereof grained, said portions being arranged and disposed so asto define the design; said portions constituting the ink-ta king andink-rejecting parts of the surface, respectively.

6. A planographic printingplate having 116 a printing surface consistingof a single planographic metal, the design bearing portion of said platebeing smooth and the design being carried directly upon such smoothportion and arranged in the plane of the other portions of the surface,the non-design portions of said surface being grained to be water-takingand Water-holding.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nanie to this specification 1n thepresence of 120 two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE R. CORNWALL.

Witnesses WM. TIIRAP PONAL, JOHN D. MORGAN.

